Biographic clinics v 2 1911 Author:George Milbry Gould Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. RICHARD WAGNER.1 The following quotations are from the Life of Richard Wagner by Glasenapp and Ellis, and from the volumes of Letters to Heckel, ... more »Wesendonck, and Liszt. I regret exceedingly that the reproduction here of so large a number of excerpts is necessary. I have omitted many that it seemed possible to spare and not to spoil the clinical picture. Only by careful reading can one get a clear idea of Wagner's sufferings and symptoms and be thus enabled to come to a sound diagnosis of the one malady that resulted in such various and lifelong symptoms. "Richard Wagner was born in 1813. . . . His delicate constitution required peculiar care, for he was already troubled with that irritating form of erysipelas ( ? erythema or eczema) which recurred at intervals throughout life. . . . Down to his sixth year he had no regular lessons; his mother wished to give him time to pick up strength and would not have him plagued with school work. ... A pale, slim little chap in short-armed frocks, but unruly enough already—thus these traditions show the tiny Richard." (G., p. 61.) " My good uncle tried his best to put me through some educational training. . . . That I did not profit much by his in- 1 Published in textit{The Lancet, London, and the textit{Journal of the. American Medical Association, August 1, 1903, struction was, I fear, my own fault. I preferred rambling about the little country town and its environs, to learning the rules of grammar. ... I often beguiled my uncle into reading me a story that I might avoid working." (1821 or 1822.) By night they had to suffer for each other, as both were most excitable and fitful sleepers. . . . Cacilie had plenty to say of her brother's sudden shouts and talking in his sleep, his laughter and tears in the night....« less